An Expanded Search Brought Angie & Brian Love

Angie was getting ready to let her CatholicMatch subscription expire. She’d come to the site in hopes of finding someone that would break what had been a pattern of men who didn’t meet reasonable expectations, including a marriage that had involved physical abuse. After almost three months, this particular venue wasn’t working.

Before giving up, the single mom from Maryland decided to expand her search by a little bit. The next one included neighboring Delaware. Brian came up.

He was also ready to let his subscription lapse. Similar to Angie, it wasn’t though the site had been a bad experience, but there just wasn’t enough to keep him around. Her message changed all that.

After getting to know each other via messages and on the phone, they decided to meet, but 29-year-old Angela had some things happen in the early part of the relationship that made her wonder. Brian had Proteus Disease (quick note: this wasn’t what made her wonder), and said he had to go to film a documentary in London about this.

Angela was skeptical of Brian’s stories about London, until firsthand experience changed her mind.

“I figured ‘yeah right’, Angeie laughed in retrospect. “I just meet this guy and now there’s all kinds of stories of being off to London and being in the movies.” Brian, age 27, was pretty persistent, including telling her that part of the documentary was filming his everyday life and that on Thanksgiving, the cameramen would be at her door.

“Okay, okay, I thought,” Angie recalled. “I’ll play along.” She forgot about the whole story and her skepticism until the cameras did indeed show up at her door. “He was telling the truth,” Angie said.

Angela’s daughter found a real paternal love with Brian.

Telling the truth and opening his heart to her four-year old daughter were a big reason why Angie felt comfortable moving to Delaware to be closer to him. “I had a job offer,” she said. “So it wasn’t a total leap. But at the same time I wouldn’t have made the move if it weren’t for him.”

As they continued to get know each other and the relationship grew toward engagement, Brian made plans for how the proposal would unfold. It would happen at a restaurant they were both familiar with. “It’s the kind of place you can go casual, but if you dress up, you won’t be out of place,” Angie told CatholicMatch. Brian wanted her dressed up, but didn’t want to arouse suspicion.

Mutual friends, who in fact owned the restaurant and were privy to Brian’s plans—in fact, their entire social circle was privy to Brian’s plans—helped execute a brilliant plan to get Angie dressed up. They took her out for a manicure and massage, which is the kind of thing that inspires her to get dressed up afterward. “He knew how my mind worked, Angie said fondly. “He brought this about so I thought getting dressed up was my own idea.”

Once at the restaurant, they had a table in the corner near the Christmas tree. Brian still wasn’t out of the woods. The person who would come out to play music had jumped the gun a little bit and Brian had to shoo him away, as Angie had fortunately turned her head. He then presented her with a piece of woodworking, handcrafted by himself, in the shape of heart, and saying “Be Mine” on the back.

Brian’s beautiful handcrafted wooodwork gave expression to what he felt.

“He wanted to get the ring in there, but it wouldn’t fit right,” Angie said. When she was done admiring Brian’s work, she realized he had maneuvered himself to her side and was on one knee with the ring.

Their wedding will take place in May 2013. In the meantime, Angie’s been able to enjoy a trip to London, as part of the documentary her fiancé’ was in—all expenses paid, and her little girl is going to get a new stepfather she already calls “daddy.” “You know how I said everyone knew about the engagement but me?”, Angie said to CatholicMatch. “Even my four-year old daughter knew and didn’t say anything. How’s that for keeping a secret!”